Letters to the Editor

May 21, 2016

To the Sports Editor:

Re “Man vs. Marathon: a Search for Rarefied Air,” May 15: With extraordinary genes, a flat course, and a favorable temperature and humidity, a sub-two-hour marathon could be accomplished. However, based on my studies of three extraordinary endurance athletes, certain conditions will be necessary.

Sy Mah, entrant in the Guinness Book of Records in 1987 for completing 524 marathons; Mary Hanudel, the 1987 United States female marathoner of the year; and Lorna Michael, who completed a 64-day, 2,900-mile staged race across the United States in 1993, all showed significant magnesium deficits. This should not be surprising, since the higher the adrenaline levels, the lower the magnesium ion levels.

In order to reduce very high adrenaline levels, the runner must be well hydrated before the race, on a high-magnesium diet with magnesium supplements but avoiding calcium supplements, water softeners and cola drinks, which lower magnesium levels, and training in excessive heat.

William J. Rowe

Keswick, Va.

The writer is a former assistant clinical professor of medicine at the Medical University of Ohio at Toledo.

Stereotypical Excuses

To the Sports Editor:

Re “Exile Over, He’s Eager to Help,” May 9: I am thankful that baseball is dealing with the issue of domestic violence. The Yankees’ Aroldis Chapman denied that he had a problem, and that the eight shots he fired into his garage meant that he “should have exercised better judgment.” In responding to the question about the call his terrified girlfriend made to 911, he played the ethnic card — “we Latin people are loud when we argue.” And then the lamest excuse imaginable, that Latino baseball players “were not familiar with the norms and laws of the United States.”

For 41 years I taught Latin American history at Florida State and have had to deal with the stereotype of the emotional Latino, as if that explained anything. I have worked and lived among Latinos for most of my life, and know that every single one would angrily reject the cultural excuse for domestic violence.

With the third-best career batting average, at .356, he was banished from baseball after the 1920 season. In the 1919 World Series, which he was accused of (and acquitted of) conspiring to fix, he hit .385 and played a flawless left field.

James P. Cole

Memphis

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page SP4 of the New York edition with the headline: Breaking Marathon Barrier Is Possible. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe